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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page research paper that examines two of her works, a short story entitled "Sweat" and her most famous novel The Eyes Were Watching God in regards to how Hurston portrays gender relations. The writer argues that, for the most part, this is pictured as a battleground between the sexes in which women have to defend themselves from male domination; however, the writer also points out that the relationship of Janie and Tea Cake in Eyes is a notable exception. Biography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khznhgr.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
in to accord that Hurston wrote at a time when stereotypical views concerning both gender and race were prevalent in the US, one critical perspective argues that Hurston
generally submerged her feminine critique within the traditional masculine narrative conventions (Leonard 118). In other words, Hurston was careful to make her criticism of patriarchy subtle, rather than overt. Another
critic points out that Hurston generally pictured men and the way in which men behave as "oppressive forces that women must resist and refuse" (Powers 229). An examination of two
of her works, a short story entitled "Sweat" and her most famous novel The Eyes Were Watching God, demonstrates that these observations are true. Typically, Hurston portrayed relations
between the genders as a battlefield, where men tried to gain control over women and women, in order to retain some sense of self, had to resist domination. In "Sweat,"
Hurston examines the relationship between Delia, a black woman who supports both herself and her husband by doing white peoples laundry, and her husband Sykes (Jackson 639). Sykes, who is
having an affair with another woman, tries to force Delia out of the home that her labor paid for by taking advantage of her fear of snakes. The story begins
with Sykes tormenting her with a whip that mistakes for a snake. This image carries with it the historical weight of slavery, as this was the implement with
which overseers controlled slaves (Jackson 639). The implication is that Sykes metaphorically represents all of the oppression that Delia is resisting, both black and white. The story ends with Sykes
death when the snake that he hid in the house, intending for it to strike Delia, finds him instead. This sort of adversarial relationship between husband and wife is one
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